Monday, August 24, 2009

For Those Who Simply Can't Make It On Their Own

   To those who cannot make it on their own,

             The truth is simply that we all fit in the category of not being able to make it on our own. Those trying to walk down the path of righteousness and truth without the help of our Lord Jesus Christ will always fail. The funny part of that is that we all have done exactly what I just said, for we try too often to live for ourselves and not for Him above. Most days I sadly look back and can say that I am right there in that boat of living for myself.  But the great thing is that Jesus will never judge us for living for ourselves, and He never fails to scoop us up and tell us that He loves us! Is it just me or is that ridiculously amazing?? Especially for a guy like me who is consistently falling to what I want compared to what He wants.  Psalms 139:11-12 puts it perfectly saying,  "If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me and the light around me is about to be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." 

            After a long twelve hour school-day, I had to look back and ask, "How did I get through that?" The answer comes from Christ, the one who gave me the strength to keep going. During cross country today we had a very intense workout- enough to the point where I just didn't think I could keep going. After giving up on the first sprint, I had run completely out of gas to keep going. I had to call upon the Lord for strength. I simply could not do the workout on my own strength, however as always, the Lord gave me the extra strength to keep going and persevere through the fire. I praise God for teaching me the valuable lesson I learned today on the track! 

So what does the Lord have to say about trust and getting our strength from Him??
Isaiah 30:15- "In returning (repentance) and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength."  If you keep reading on it says that the Israelites ignored this statement made and did not trust in him, providing an example in the Bible of people who also make the mistake of trusting in him and continued on with their own ways. There is consequences sometimes to not trusting in him though- for in chapter 37 we see that Judah was invaded. Another verse in Isaiah that stuck out to me was Isaiah 12:2 which says, "Behold the Lord is my salvation, I will trust and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation."  Man that verse says it all for me, let us trust in the Lord and not be afraid, for if He is with us, who shall fight against us? I pray that everyone relies on the Lord this week as school continues on! stay strong my brothers and sisters! 

Sincerely your brother in Christ, 

Matt Galvin
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Saturday, August 22, 2009

What If?


Matthew 25:35-40 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. The righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, "Truly as I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 

What If?

That is the question I dare to speak about. What If?

What if we were a friend to the kid at school who has none?? What if we said hi to our neighbors today? What if we encouraged our siblings today? What if we let that elderly person take our seat on the bus? What if we had a smile on our face everyday? What if we fed the kids that stare at us with longing and empty stomachs? What if we gave drink to the people that beg for a small sip of the many drinks that we fill our throats with everyday? What if we welcomed that nerdy looking new kid at school to hang out with our friends? What if a homeless man asked for clothes? What if that dying person had someone that cared after them before they passed away? What if we reached out to those people that have sinned just like us and poured into them? 

The list goes on and on...

This is the Lord's call for us- Go serve these people! 

I know for me this list is often a list I overlook and say, "I'll have plenty of time to do this when I'm older and involved with the Church and whatnot." Not until recently have I discovered the fault behind that statement. The answer comes from 1st Timothy 4:32 "Do not let others look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. Paul continues on to tell Timothy who is a young believer to read the scriptures in public and to teach the Gospel! We are called to serve no matter our age! This is one of my go-to verses because its so applicable to me and all my peers who are still young. Who said we can't be leaders for Christ? In fact we are urged by Paul to be the example for the believers!!! If your reading this that is what I want you to take to heart- that you can be a strong leader even if you are young! Backtracking to Matthew 25, if we all committed ourselves to following what those verses challenged us with, our world would be changed. The sad thing though is there are few that commit to that, and I am the first to admit that I haven't been following that challenge given to us by the Lord. So what if?? What if we took these verses to heart and changed the world, living it out for Him above and concerning ourselves with reaching out to those who are sick, hungry, thirsty, naked, in prison, those lonely and unwelcomed. 

Lets GO for it! I'm game for sticking to the challenge! Hope you are too!

Run hard to the cross my friends, 

Matt Galvin

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Brick Wall?? I think so

Its good to be back writing again, anyways check out this wacky picture- 

                    looks like he hit the wall pretty darn hard there. 

     This picture relates to my walk with Christ lately, simply running as fast as you can, then smacking into a massive wall. The fall takes much time to recover from, for one cannot run as fast as they were before, but have to accelerate and gain momentum to get up to speed.  Likewise in our walk with Christ, no one can begin being on fire for Christ instantly or all the time, we have to prepare our hearts and commit everything to the Lord before our fire comes. Recently my daily walk with Christ has been like a wet fire that will not burn. The things I have said, my actions, my thoughts, my prayers, the way I have been looking at girls, etc... has not been aligned with what Christ wants, but what I want.  John 15:4 says, "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." Consistently I find myself falling and falling and falling into the ways of this world and everytime the Lord scoops me the lost sheep up and reminds me of the path to take- the path that is straight and true. I love these lyrics that Casting Crowns sing because they are so true and relate so well to this very matter.  check it out- 
 Who am I? 
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I? 
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

- No matter who you are and what you have done, I would encourage you to look to the Lord for he understands you and your situation. So many people always say, "O I just don't think that the Lord understands me." But I am here to say, Of course he understands you! He created you and knows more about you than anyone does. Its amazing to see how great a father the Lord is to us daily, helping us and showing his love to us everytime we sin right in front of him! "For let us not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." -Romans 12:2.  

Your brother in Christ, 

Matt Galvin
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